South Campus Rail Trail Recreational Area
Park
509 acres25.3 mi of trail
South Campus Rail Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar House · Photo: Fredlyfish4 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Oxford
Oxford has 32 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: South Campus Rail Trail Recreational Area (25.3 mi), mTrade Park (0.9 mi), Bailey Woods (0.8 mi). 754 acres are parks and preserves, 29 per 1,000 residents. 1% of Oxford’s land is conserved, about 228 acres.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #6 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
228 acres · of 26.6 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
754 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
32 mi
28 mi lanes · 4.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Oxford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oxford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oxford is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #6 of 101 in Mississippi. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (32 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (754 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home61% of residents within a half mile of a park · MS 46% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 65%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 95%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Oxford’s 1% is ahead of 43% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 100% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is South Campus Rail Trail Recreational Area, with 25.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bailey Woods
Nature preserve
87 acres0.8 mi of trail
Bailey Woods Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lamar Park
Park
62 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 15 parks & preserves
South Campus Rail Trail Recreational Area509 acres · 25.3 mi of trail
DirectionsmTrade Park90 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsBailey Woods87 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsWoodlawn Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLamar Park62 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Stone Park20 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBlackburn-McMurray Intramural Fields and Disc Golf Course51 acres
DirectionsAvent Park17 acres
Garden Terrace Park5 acres
FNC Bailey Branch Park4 acres
Price Hill Park3 acres
DirectionsOxford Skate Park2 acres
DirectionsRivers Hill Park2 acres
Veterans Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsOxford City Pool1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
228 conserved acres
1% of Oxford’s land. Who manages Oxford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city116 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits98 ac
U.S. Forest Service15 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 98 acLocal Park · 89 acLocal Recreation Area · 27 acResearch or Educational Area · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 98 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Park Local Park | Town or city | 68 | Open |
| Avent Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Stone Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Forest Hydro. Lab. Experimental Area Research or Educational Area | U.S. Forest Service | 15 | Restricted |
| Oxford Soccer Softball Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Garden Terrace Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
34 places to go in Oxford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Oxford
28 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Oxford
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 25.4 miUnpaved · 26.6 mi
South Campus Rail Trail0.9 mi
LHS Running Path0.7 mi
Bailey Woods Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
32 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
28 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
57Tennis
27Baseball
13Beach volleyball
12Basketball
9Golf
8Soccer
5Softball
3Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
St. Peter's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1975
About itLafayette County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itIsom PlaceBuilding · listed 1980
About itOxford Courthouse Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itNorth Lamar Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itSouth Lamar Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About itAvent Acres Neighborhood Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020
About itWhen to get out
May is the best month for walking in Oxford
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 65 | 74 | 81 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 75 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 5.9 |
August is the driest month (3.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 6.0 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Oxford →
Questions about parks and trails in Oxford
Where can I hike in Oxford?
The longest trail networks: South Campus Rail Trail Recreational Area, 25.3 miles; mTrade Park, 0.9 miles; Bailey Woods, 0.8 miles; Woodlawn Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oxford is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Mississippi town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Oxford’s trails?
South Campus Rail Trail Recreational Area and mTrade Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oxford?
32 miles of bike routes are on the map: 28 of painted or protected lanes and 4.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Oxford?
4,147 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oxford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 754 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oxford have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 of 101 in Mississippi. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Oxford neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →